accept visa and mastercard. microsoft is set to unveil a new music streaming service to challenge itunes and spotify. this new program called xbox music combines streaming music, a music subscription service, and a music store that sells individual tracks and albums. users will be able to use cloud technology to access their music across all of their devices. officials say this program is to help keep people's music all in one place and to be able to get it no matter where they are. how about that? >> great option. it's always nice to have lots of options. >> maybe it will be cheaper then too. >> stay with us. "news 4 today" continues right now at 5:00 a.m. right now the search is on for two area hikers missing in the montana wilderness. and still on his feet. rg3 is going to outrace everybody. >> rg3 and the redskins leaving that home losing streak in the dust.

good morning, everybody. i'm aaron gilchrist. >> and i'm eun yang. welcome to "news 4 today" for this monday, october 15th, 2012. a pleasant start to your morning outside. don't get used to it. big changes starting to move into our region again, right now. >> let's talk about right now and how much we like what's going on right now. let's enjoy this mild start, unusually so for mid-october. a lot of cloudiness around. this is ahead of the front that's going to be bringing the big change. a few breaks in the clouds across parts of virginia and into western maryland right now. but much farther west, that's where there is some rain there in the upper left of your screen. those little patches of green, just a few sprinkles out in northern west virginia into western pennsylvania. that is advancing east and getting closer to us. we did have a few sprinkles passing through montgomery county into western howard over the last half hour or so. now they're dissipating. we're in the 60s throughout most of the region now. a beautiful start to the day. a bit breezy, and we'll have a

lot of cloudiness around by 6:00 a.m. still in the 60s. by noon, ought to be near 70 and maybe a passing shower moving west to east and a greater chance out in the mountains. then during the afternoon, the rest of the region likely will have a few passing showers. highs near 70. noontime, we'll drop back down to the mid-60s by late afternoon. i'm back in ten minutes with another hometown forecast and a look at storm team 4 radar. right now first 4 traffic with danella. >> thanks, tom. checking the roadways, if you're making the trip along i-66, not seeing any accidents or road work right now as you make your way from the bypass and head towards the beltway, travel lanes are open. a live look at the rest area. very light volume eastbound and westbound. inside the beltway, i-66, clear as well. if you're taking the rails, not seeing any reported delays along the rail either. metro, marc, vre all running on or close to schedule. aaron, over to you. >> thank you, danella. breaking news out of prince williacounty, virginia. fire investigators trying to figure out what started a huge fire at a storage unit facility. this is in the 7900 block of

sudley road. news 4's megan mcgrath live with more information. megan? >> reporter: well, aaron, this happened at the store-all self storage facility just off of sudley road here in manassas. if you look behind me here, you can see the presence that we still have, firefighters here on the scene. they have a number of ladder trucks still deployed, keeping an eye on things. they have the bulk of the fire knocked down although we can see a little bit of smoke still rising from time to time. they've got the crews standing by, though, to make sure that no hot spots flare up. everything is under control at this point. this fire broke out late last night. they had quite a response by firefighters. we have windy conditions, which certainly did not helpheir efforts to put out this fire. as for what exactly caused the blaze, all of that still under investigation. there were a number of storage units here at this facility that were impacted. they are still here on the scene wrapping up their work, keeping an eye on things. of course, the investigation

continues. now in terms of what was burned inside these storage containers or storage rooms, still don't know that information as of yet. don't have any damage estimates. the road, sudley road, completely open now. reporting live in manassas, megan mcgrath, news 4. back to you. a developing story this morning. the search is under way for two virginia hikers missing in montana. neal peckens of herndon and jason hiser of richmond left for a hiking trip in glacier national park last week. family members reported them missing friday when they did not catch their flight home. both men are veterinarians. yesterday 50 rangers searched the hiking trails. they found tracks in the area and a fire ring. rangers say it may be evidence of the missing men. they also have the hikers' park permits, which will help them narrow the search. >> we know that they had a back country permit, and that permit showed them where they were going to be hiking. we at least have the general area, and we've got a high probability area of where they were. perhaps the weather is playing something with this.

we're not sure what's going on. we'll continue to do what we can. >> park rangers say the men may have gone off trail due to the high winds and snow. today two prince george's county police officers will be in court. they're accused of beating a university of maryland student. officers james harrison and reginald baker face assault charges for attacking a student following a basketball game. they're accused of beating john mckenna, who was celebrating a terps win over duke. this was in march of 2010. video taken from a dorm room shows officers in riot gear beating mckenna with batons. he suffered a concussion and other injuries. both officers face first and second degree assault charges. also today, opening statements expected in the case of a former d.c. police officer accused of shooting three people. kenneth furr faces multiple charges for firing his gun while off-duty in 2011. a police arrest affidavit says furr solicited a transgender woman for sex outside a cvs in northwest d.c. after she refused, he became

angry and allegedly threatened her and one of her friends with a gun. a few minutes later, furr confronted them, jumped on the hood of their car, and shot through the front windshield, hitting three people. all the victims suffered nonlife-threatening injuries. as president obama and mitt romney prepare for their second debate, the race for the white house stands pretty much where it did before the first debate. leads among 3% among likely voters. that's within the poll's margin of error. president obama led by 2% before the first debate, which most voters believe romney won. the obama campaign says the president will be more prepared for tomorrow night's debate. he is preparing right now at a resort in williamsburg, virginia. he visited campaign volunteers nearby yesterday. mitt romney, meanwhile, is practicing in boston. he made just a brief appearance yesterday as he and his wife headed to church. the president's campaign says you can expect a different tone tomorrow night. romney's aides say that won't

matter. and this is your last chance to register to vote if you haven't done so already. in fact, today is the deadline to register in virginia. maryland voters have until tomorrow, and the same goes for people in west virginia. in the district, the deadline has already passed register by mail, but you can still register in person. you'll have to do it at a public library, firehouse, or police station. the losing streak at fedex field is officially over. after eight loss ins a row, the redskins finally get their win at home with a big thanks in part to the defense. >> stepping up, and the ball is knocked loose. it's picked up by loreo alexander. >> second quarter with the skins up by one, lorenzo alexander catches a fumble by the vikings quarterback, returns it to the 6, setting up the team for another score. that is just one of three turnovers the redskins "d" forced. former vikings safety madieu williams also got an interception, returning it for 24 yards, to earn the redskins'

fourth defensive touchdown of the year. and the redskins end it 38-26. >> how much did you guys hear about the home losing streak, and how much attention did you pay to that? >> i heard it all week. obviously, i'm a guy that listens to talk radio. so i know everybody's talking about it. it's embarrassing. you've got to be able to defend your home turf if you ever want to go to the playoffs. being, i don't know what we were, 1-8 or 1-9. it's pretty embarrassing, pretty sad. that's something we definitely want to step up and change around here. >> next sunday the skins take on division rivals, the new york giants. >> so sweet to win at home finally. >> it's nice to see. just keep it going >> and have a game like that for rg3. awesome. new hope this morning for a young pakistani girl targeted by the taliban. [ female announcer ] as you're making your decision...

maybe you're wondering what to believe about mitt romney. well, when it comes to protecting your access to birth control... and the basic women's health care services planned parenthood provides... one thing we must remember, is this: i'll cut off funding to planned parenthood. [ female announcer ] he'll cut it off. cut us off.

planned parenthood. we're going to get rid of that. [ female announcer ] women need to know the real mitt romney. [ obama ] i'm barack obama and i approve this message.

this morning apple's new ipad mini will reportedly come in 16 different memory sizes with prices ranging from $322.60

to $650. the website mobile geeks obtained a screen shot of a spreadsheet from an electronics store in europe that is showing the different models and prices. apple is staying mum on the reported release of its ipad mini. the company is expected to make an announcement next week. >> wow, they're really parsing it down. 60 cents? $322.60. >> for tax purposes. >> let's check the forecast. storm team 4 meteorologist tom kierein with the forecast. feels great out there now. there's a live view from our hd 4 city camera. there's the washington monument under a cloudy sky. we've got clouds in ahead of a front coming through. by 7:00 a.m. in la plata. maybe a few sprinkles in charles county. a greater chance for passing showers. hour by hour through the afternoon, passing showers, and we'll be back down to the low 0 60s by sunset. a look at the rest of the week

and the weekend in ten minutes. a look at traffic with danella. if you're traveling i-270 southbound at the spur, had a disabled vehicle in the right shoulder lane. it's now gone. those travel lanes are all open. also open, the dulles toll road, nice and clear from reston to the beltway, no issues to report. six minutes from hunter mill road to get to the beltway. aaron and eun? >> thanks, danella. 5:13 now. people on capitol hill remembering the life of a longtime senator from pennsylvania. ♪

♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] combine the pnc cashbuilder visa credit card with a qualifying pnc performance select checking account and earn 75% more than cards earning 1% cash back on almost everything.

welcome back. police in florida are trying to figure out how a woman crashed into a scrap metal business. the speeding car slammed

sideways into the building early saturday morning. fr fortunately, no one was inside the building at the time of the crash. the woman behind the wheel was taken to the hospital. so far no charges have been filed. new this morning, the 14-year-old pakistani girl who was shot and seriously wounded by the taliban now in the united kingdom for treatment. taliban operatives shot malala yousufzai for criticizing the militant group and promoting what they call western thinking. she is considered an activist for women in the area, pushing for girls education. doctors say they'll need to repair damaged bones in her skull. police have arrested at least three suspects in connection with that attack, but the two gunmen are still on the run. the taliban is claiming responsibility for a deadly attack on a pakistani police station. dozens of militants stormed the building, killing at least six officers. this happened outside the northwest city of peshawar. the attack sparked a shootout that lasted for several hours.

they set fire to the police station and several vehicles before finally leaving. hearings get under way for five men charged with the september 11th terror attacks. today's pretrial hearing at guantanamo bay will have the men accused of planning or assisting going before a military commission. among them, khalid sheikh mohammed, the professed mastermind of the attacks. relatives of the victims will be watching at forts in several states, including maryland. with mounting pressure to end his country's involvement, britain's defense secretary says he plans to withdraw thousands of troops from afghanistan next year. philip hammond told bbc there is evidence, as the u.s. has withdrawn its surge, the afghan forces have stepped up and taken over. britain is already withdrawing 500 soldiers this year, leaving around 9,000. all british troops are expected to leave afghanistan by the end of 2014. this morning lawmakers across the country are remembering a longtime former pennsylvania senator. arlen specter served in the u.s. senate for much of his 30-year career in politics.

he was heavily involved in choosing supreme court justices and was known to many as a moderate. for years, he served as a republican but switched to a democrat in 2009. he lost his re-election bid in the 2010 primary. for the last ten years, specter fought a very public battle with non-hodgkins lymphoma. he died yesterday at the age of 82. right now the former captain of the ship costa concordia francesco scuttino arrived in court this morning. he's accused of manslaughter, abandoning ship, and other charges. he denies the charges and is suing to get his job back. 32 people on board died when the ship capsized off the coast of italy. the space shuttle "endeavour" at its new home in california. the shuttle arrived at the california science center on

sunday. it was 17 hours late. it took three days to go 12 miles from the airport to the museum. a hiydraulic leak in the transporter contributed to the delay. tree trimmers had to account for the shuttle's wing span. 75 years after becoming the first human to fly faster than the speed of sound, retired air force brigadier general chuck yeager is making some noise again. he sat in the backseat of an f-15 eagle that broke the sound barrier more than 30,000 feet above california's mojave des t desert. that's quite different than the experimental bell-x rocket he piloted into history on october 14th, 1947. and an austrian sky diver, felix baumgartner, jumped from 24 miles up and reached speeds of more than 3,300 miles per hour before landing safely in

the new mexico desert. check out this landing, perfection. baumgartner used a special capsule to travel up into the stratosphere. he wore a high tech suit to shield himself on the way down. he had a mission control team there you can see on the ground monitoring his every move. >> when i was standing there on top of the world, you became so humble. you want to come back alive. because you do not want to die from your parents, your girlfriend. >> baumgartner broke a free fall record that had been on the books since the 1960s. just for added perspective, he jumped from a height three times higher than the cruising altitude for commercial jet liners. >> and then such a soft landing. you see there. he literally walked onto the ground at that point. >> it's unreal. i can't believe he did this. >> we said last week why? why would you do it? you kind of see it there. it's a part of history. >> really? i so wouldn't go ther it is a big deal, that's for sure. >> 5:21 is our time right now. tom kierein is keeping an eye

outside. a nice way to start the morning, tom. it's a beautiful view. as we step off this morning, there's the washington monument under a cloudy sky. a few passing sprinkles north and west of washington over the past couple of hours. those, though, are dissipating. as we take a look farther to the west. we do have showers there now moving into western maryland and central west virginia. maybe a few sprinkles in loudoun county. otherwise, a lot of cloudiness as we start off this monday morning, and it's mild. we're in the 60s from the atlantic beaches, eastern shore, around the bay. most of maryland, virginia, and into west virginia. we will stay this way for the next couple of hours. by noontime, near 70. during the afternoon, some passing showers likely. so have an umbrella handy when you're heading back home. in fact, even for your lunch hour and coming back home for work and school. we'll be back down to the 60s during any shower activity. and the winds a bit blustery, gusting to 20 miles an hour. shifting out of the southwest to the northwest after this front goes by. as that front goes by, it will bring in much cooler weather,

down to the mid-50s by midnight. mid-40s by this time tomorrow morning, it will be quite a chilly change. on tuesday, bright and sunny. afternoon highs into the low to mid-60s. we'll have a bit of a blustery wind tomorrow too. then on wednesday, lighter winds, a milder day, afternoon highs around 70. just beautiful. on thursday too, more of the same. here's a look at our all important weekend friday. maybe a shower in the morning, and then clearing in the afternoon with highs low 70s. over the weekend, a bit cooler. still very pleasant. great for outdoor activities saturday and sunday. morning lows 40s. afternoon highs 60s. i'll return in ten minutes. danella's here with your first 4 traffic. good morning. >> good morning. thanks, tom. traveling 66 heading eastbound just past 34. you have a disabled vehicle in your right shoulder lane. travel lanes as you make your way eastbound, they are open. let's head over, taking the beltway in college park. if you're traveling the inner loop and outer loop, your travel lanes are open. accident free between the wilson

bridge and as you loop around to the american legion bridge. i'm not seeing any reports of accidents, and your volume pretty good. traveling the beltway in virginia, nice and clear as well. this is a live look at van dorn. again, inner loop and outer loop, accident free. and the earlier construction in virginia, that looks to be completely gone. aaron and eun, back over to you. >> thank you, danella. today is a big day for prominent economists. he or she will wind the nobel prize in economics. a swedish committee will announce at 7:00 a.m. eastern time. it's worth about $1.2 million. and the controversial hpv vaccine does not cause girls to have more sex. the study from kaiser permanente looked at medical records from 1,400 vaccinated and unvaccinated girls. it revealed no difference in sexual activity from ages 13 to 18. they recommend girls get the vaccine around the age of 11 and 12 to prevent cervical cancer.

and the more coffee, the better. women who drink, get this, six cups of coffee each day are less likely to suffer from womb cancer. it could also lower risk of type 2 diabetes, gallstones, colon cancer, and parkinson's disease. one thing to note, whether the coffee was cav nated or decaf nated doesn't matter. a study that will make every parent and teacher nod their head, kids who get lots of sleep are better behaved at home and at school. researchers in canada studied students ages 7 to 11. they had half the kids go to bed earlier than normal while keeping others up later than usual. the kids who stayed up late were not only tired but were also more impulsive, irritable, and quick to lose their tempers. sleep experts say a good night's sleep is essential not only to a child's health but to their

academic success as well. >> i think i see this across the board. they're better behaved. they're better learners. they eat better. they're in a better mood. they're prepared. >> and the same is true for adults. people come to work groggy and grumpy probably didn't sleep very much. >> we're all happy here. this morning investigators are trying to determine what caused a fireworks display to explode in a crowd of spectators instead of in the sky. >> a witness captured the panic on his cell phone. take a look at this video from eastern china. you can see and hear the mass chaos as fireworks exploded into the crowd. the mishap happened saturday night during the opening ceremony of the westlake international expo. several people were treated for burns. 5:26 is our time right now. coming up this morning, preparing for their next showdown. what we can expect from president obama and mitt romney take the stage in their second debate. plus how area religious

groups are combatting a controversial message on display at area metro stations.

take away his toys and he'll play with a stick. take away their bikes and they'll still find a way to get where they're going. but if take you away early childhood education... slash k-12 funding... and cut college aid for middle class families ... they won't go far. yet that's exactly what mitt romney wants to do... ...to pay for a $250,000 tax break for multi-millionaires. if mitt romney wins, the middle class loses. priorities usa action is responsible for the content of this advertising.

looking at the stories making headlines at 5:29. the search continues for two missing men after they went missing from a hike in the montana wilderness. and felix baumgartner waking up a world record holder after plunging 20 miles to the earth. and the redskins win at home thanks to rg3 and the defense. good morning to you. i'm eun yang. >> and i'm aaron gilchrist. welcome into "news 4 today" on this monday, october 15th. a live look outside. you see the jefferson memorial in the distance. 66 warm degrees outside our studios at 5:30 this monday morning. >> changed could be coming. meteorologist tom kierein with the forecast. >> that's a live view from our hd4 city camera. as we take a look at the storm team 4 radar, we have showers

coming into western maryland, into central west virginia, and a few sprinkles showing up into loudoun county and far northwestern montgomery and southern frederick county. they're advancing off to the north and east. temperatures are mild. all those areas in light green are in the 60s. that includes just about all of west virginia, virginia, maryland, eastern shore, delightful start to the day. a lot of cloudiness around this morning. and hour by hour throughout the day, temperatures gradually warming to near 70 by noontime. that's when we have a greater chance of passing showers, likely passing showers during the afternoon. temperatures back down to the 60s by then. i'm back in ten minutes with a hometown forecast. danella is here now with a look at traffic. good morning. >> good morning. let's start our first 4 traffic report in virginia. traveling i-95 northbound just past lorton road. have an accident in your right shoulder lane. your travel lanes are open at this time. let's take this time to head over to maryland. if you're traveling along bw parkway in maryland and i-95, both are clear between the

baltimore beltway and the capital beltway. over to 50, if you're making that commute between annapolis and heading towards the beltway, your travel lanes are open. i'll give you a live look as you make your way past landover road. nice and clear. heading inbound, no issues just yet as you make your way from kenilworth avenue and head towards new york avenue, you're accident free in both directions. over to you. president obama and mitt romney spending today getting ready for their second debate tomorrow night. the president is in williamsburg, virginia. mitt romney is in boston. both agree it's upon the president to improve on his performance in the next debate. nbc's tracie potts live on capitol hill with more. >> reporter: good morning. the president apparently agrees with it. he saw the tape of the last debate, was pretty disappointed, and does not plan to make the same mistakes again. tomorrow the president's been down in williamsburg practicing for this next one on tomorrow. not a lot of details about specifically what he's studying

other than aides saying he'll be a lot more aggressive and energetic than we saw two weeks ago. mitt romney, who went to church with his family yesterday, has been doing debate prep himself on the road, ready to face what aides say will be, from the president, a new strategy. >> we saw governor romney sort of serially walk away from his own proposals, and certainly the president is going to be willing to challenge him on it. >> the president can change his style. he can change his tactics. he can't change his record, and he can't change his policies. >> reporter: mitt romney has been really focus on ohio. we saw him there on the weekend. he's narrowed the president's average lead to just over 1%. the president had a big lead in ohio just a few weeks ago. mitt romney has been there 34 times in the last month and a half or so since the republican convention. and the latest national poll, the washington post/abc poll,

gives the president a three-point advantage. but that interestingly is about the same spread we saw before the last debate. so still a very tight race. aaron? >> tracie potts on the hill for us. thank you, tracie. nbc 4 is your home for politics this election year. you can watch tomorrow night's debate right here starting at 9:00 p.m. we'll have continuing coverage later on that evening at news 4 at 11:00. today is the deadline for virginia voters to register. in maryland and west virginia, you have until tomorrow. in the district, you've missed the deadline to register by mail, but you can still register in person until friday. you'll have to do it at any d.c. library, firehouse, or police station. today several religious groups will call on metro to donate money it received from a controversial advertising campaign. the coalition, which includes representatives from christian, jewish, and muslim groups wants metro to donate proceeds from these ads to a charity that supports human rights. the american freedom defense initiative's ads equate muslim radicals with savages.

the federal judge forced metro to post the ads, citing freedom of speech. right now officials in howard county are asking for your help to find a missing elderly man. he was leaving his home in ellicott city on sunday. turner suffers from dementia, has no cell phone, and requires multiple medications. if you've seen charles turner, call 911. two men from anne arundel county under arrest for shooting and killing a man in pasadena. 18-year-old ronald mcleod on the left and daniel savage on the right, shot and killed 21-year-old matthew morrow outside a house party on saturday morning. both men are charged with first degree murder. police say a man behind a string of armed robberies at a university of maryland campus is only 17 years old. jalil robinson of greenbelt was

arrested yesterday after police say they found items related to those robberies inside his home. last week three students reported being robbed at gunpoint near the university view apartments. robinson is being charged as an adult. robert grirffin iii is the talk of the town after the redskins win at home. the losing streak is officially over after the skins beat the minnesota vikings. >> tough game here. here's rg3, going to run for the first down. still on his feet. rg3 is going to outrace everybody! >> look at him go. rg3 ran a 76-yard touchdown in yesterday's game to seal the 38-26 win for the skins. that is the longest by a quarterback since 1996. griffin says the team had to get a win this week after an eight-game losing streak at fedex field. >> to lose eight straight at home is unacceptable for any kind of sport. we made that a point of emphasis this week to make sure we came out and protect our home turf or grass.

even though i wasn't here for that whole time, i'm still a part of this organization that i take on all those burdens along with the other guys. we made that a point. hopefully, we can start a game winning streak or winning streak, period. >> next week the skins face the new york giants, who are currently leading the division. we're in second place, by the way. >> and it's grass, not turf, in case you missed that. home grass, not turf. just thought that was kind of funny. 5:37 is our time right now. still to come this morning, trying to make a difference. the efforts of friends and family to help two local men recover from a fiery crash.

"and what's your name?" "oh, it's flo." "and what do you do?" "oh, i sell insurance like no one else." "oh, that's nice." "thank you." now, that's progressive. call or click today. welcome back. if you're looking for that perfect pumpkin to scarve this year, maybe it will be a bit much. our super size pumpkin tips the scale at nearly 1,300 pounds. how would you take that thing home? it won a local pumpkin contest, and it's the third year in a row that its grower won the contest. he doesn't use fertilizer, just a big old dose of determination.

i just want to know what do you do with pumpkins that size? they win contests, right? >> and you let the kids slide on it. >> carving pumpkins is very fun but a very messy endeavor. you're going to come to the pumpkin patch with us and then carve pumpkins. >> i'll watch, yeah. >> encourage us from the sidelines. 5:41 is our time right now. take a look outside if you will. the capitol dome outside in the distance. we can see it. tom, an indicator of clear skies to start us off? >> it's not a clear sky. we've got clear visibility. we've got a cloudy sky now. ahead of that front, we've had showers moving into the mountains of western maryland and west virginia, and a few sprinkles showing up on storm team 4 radar just north and west of washington. you might need an umbrella in centerville and hometown forecast by 7:00 a.m. a few sprinkles in the 60s possible. and a greater chance of showers by noontime and the upper 60s there. later today through much of the region, near 70 through noontime and early afternoon. passing showers likely through

the afternoon. a look at the rest of the week and the weekend in ten minutes. a look at traffic now with danella. good morning. >> good morning. thanks, tom. traveling i-95 in virginia, i want to talk about some delays. as you make your way northbound from stafford approaching quantico, you see delays northbound. just past lorton road, still have activity in the right shoulder lane. police are on the scene. back over to you both. >> thank you, danella. it is now 5:42. still to come, a look at how much money this year's three-day cancer walk raised and how it stacks up to years past. [ mitt romney ] look at the evidence of the last four years.

under the president's policies, middle income americans have been buried. they're just being crushed. middle-income americans have seen their income come down by $4,300. this is a tax in and of itself. i'll call it the economy tax. i'm not going to raise taxes on anyone. my plan is to bring down rates to get more people working. my priority is putting people back to work in america. i'm mitt romney and i approve this message.

welcome back at 5:45. a d.c. community coming to help two men seriously injured in a fiery crash. friends and co-workers are raising money to help pay for their medical bills. the two men worked as bar backs

at penn social in the district. two weeks ago a drunk driver rear-ended them on georgia avenue northwest causing their car to burst into flames. the men suffered first degree burns on 40% of their body. the men are being treated at washington hospital's burn unit. the victims' co-workers say the police saved their lives. >> if it wasn't for the two cops that pulled them out in a minute's time, they really wouldn't have made it. >> least we can do is support our co-workers, one of our family, one of our industry co-workers for something so senseless that happened. >> they raised more than $3,000 to help cover medical expenses. the men are expected to be in the burn unit for the next six months. the meningitis outbreak is now up to 205 confirmed case as cross the country. 15 of those cases are in maryland. 34 are in virginia. the cdc says the number of deaths now stands at 15. that's across 14 states. the outbreak is linked to steroid shots used for back pain made by a specialty pharmacy in massachusetts. the medication has since been

recalled. a woman in minnesota is the first to file a lawsuit against that pharmacy. the new mexico food company linked to a salmonella outbreak is expanding its recall to include raw and roasted peanuts. sunland began a voluntary recall of its peanut butter last month. the company shut down its peanut processing plant last week after at least 35 salmonella cases were reported in 19 states, including maryland and virginia. sunland is now recalling everything made at its containment plant since march of 2010. the products can be found at trader joe's, giant, whole foods, and target. this weekend susan g. komen three-day walk for a cure raised almost $4 million. the organization says almost 1,600 participants helped raise $3.8 million for breast cancer research. that's down from last year's donations. last year the walk here in washington raised $7 million. organizers say the registration was down nearly 40% for this

year's walk, and that could be for the breast cancer charity's unsuccessful move to defund planned parent hood. a maryland man fell to his death in a hunting accident. 62-year-old albert astrowas hunting on his property near dentsville. he fell about 21 feet from a tree. police say medical issues may have contributed to the accident. an autopsy is planned. a warning for virginia residents. we're entering one of the most dangerous times of the year when it comes to fires. wildfire season begins today in virginia. conditions are ideal for wildfires right now because leaves are drying out and falling from trees. humidity is also low and winds tend to pick up during the fall. wildfire season continues through the end of november. d.c. is spending millions of dollars to upgrade playgrounds around the city. the mayor's office says the $30 million project will be the largest playground reconstruction in the city's history. of the city's 78 playgrounds, 32

will get improvements. city officials say about half the cost is from unspent funds from the city's budget in the 2012 fiscal year. renovations are expected to be completeded by next september. dozens of army national guard members are waking up with their loved ones since they returned from afghanistan. >> d.c.! >> yeah. >> i guess he's happy to be home. sounds like it there, right? >> aw. >> there are about 70 guard members who returned yesterday for a homecoming at the d.c. armory in southeast washington. they completed a ten-month tour of duty. >> i feel like i just exhaled. i feel like i'm more relaxed now and things will be better that my husband is home. >> it feels good. i really don't know how to describe it, but it's like a weight lifted off my shoulders.

i've been gone so long. >> the guard members operated out of bagram air base. they managed dining facility, mail operations, and provided security details for american personnel. always nice to see them come home. >> i get teary-eyed every time. i can't help myself. congratulations. welcome back. thank you for your service. >> just about ten minutes before the top of the hour. tom kierein is back with us this morning. we're starting out nicely, and then we're going to kind of mix it up a little bit. >> here we go. autumn is a battle between winter and summer. it was looking like winter on saturday morning. a hard frost much of i-95. i took this picture at northern montgomery county just at sunrise on saturday morning. there was widespread frost all throughout that region. and areas north and west. and then it quickly melted, and we had a beautiful weekend. as we take a look at what's been happening now this monday morning, we've had a few passing sprinkles north and west of

washington. these little patches of green northern montgomery into frederick. farther west arb, a few breaks the clouds in the highlands of west virginia. and this area of green, that's areas of light rain from garrett county down into the highlands of north central west virginia. it's all heading off to the east/northeast. ahead of that front, we're in the 60s from the bay, west across maryland, virginia, into the mountains. a mild morning. and winds are gusting 20 miles an hour. the leaves are swirling about. for your morning commute, should be generally dry. winds are gusting a bit. still holding steady in the 60s by 7:00 a.m. by noontime, for your lunch hour, you may need an umbrella. may have passing showers, especially if you head west of the metro area. those showers moving in toward us, and we'll be near 70 by noontime. falling back into the 60s during the afternoon with likely showers moving through. they'll be heading east through the afternoon away from the metro area, and fall back down to the 60s.

by dawn tomorrow, this time tomorrow morning, the low to mid-40s throughout the region. afternoon highs tomorrow into the mid-60s with lots of sun. still a bit of a blustery wind out of the north and west tomorrow. then the winds diminish on tuesday night. winds up around 70, a delightful day, partly cloudy and more of the same on thursday. friday into the weekend, friday morning through noontime right now is the timing. it does look like we might have passing showers. highs low 70s. after that, turning a bit chillier on saturday morning in the 40s. afternoon highs, mid-60s, and partly cloudy. sunday looks delightful too. 40s in the morning. afternoon highs upper 60s. i'm back in ten minutes. a look at your first 4 traffic now with danella. good morning. >> good morning. thanks, tom. if you're traveling along i-270, let's drive up. we're starting to see delays, the usual delays right now as you make your way southbound from frederick. heavy on the brakes in this area. sluggish past 109. here's a live look right now.

continuing towards germantown. here's what it looks like at father hurley boulevard. not bad as you make your way southbound. clear from germantown to rockville in both directions. southbound is going to pick up more volume just a little bit later. let's head over to the rails. if you're taking metro, marc, or vre. all are running on or close to schedule with no reported delays. i'm back in ten. eun, over to you. >> danella, thanks so much. 5:53. we're paying a little less at the pump as gas prices are down. the average is $3.79. for the district, a bit higher at $3.88. maryland drivers paying about $3.70. and virginia is the cheapest in our region at $3.60. today is deadline for most people who requested an extension on filing taxes. taxpayers expected to file by today, even if you can't pay the full amount due. doing so will avoid a penalty for filing late although interest and late payment fees

will still happen. that does not include members of the military and those serving overseas. this year a group of retailers will ask a judge to approve what would be the largest federal antitrust settlement in history. it's all over swipe fees that car companies charge when you pay credit. merchants argue the car companies and their banks work together to inflate the rates. if approved, the $7.2 billion settlement would apply to all retailers that accept visa and mastercard. sprint, america's third largest wireless provider is getting a much needed cash infusion this morning. cnbc's shartia brantley is live with this story and more. >> good morning, eun. a major deal in the telecom industry. japan's softbank is buying a stake in nextel for 20 millions there. it will give sprint a much needed cash injection as it struggled in recent years to compete with verizon and at&t. soft bank says the deal makes

sense because the u.s. is the world's biggest market for smartphones. and amazon says some customers will soon be eligible for refunds or credits on e-books they purchased due to a settlement with the big publishing companies. amazon says the rebates will range from 32 cents to $1.32 per e-book bought between may of 2010 and april of this year, depending on whether they're best selling titles or not. however, the refunds will not be available until a court signs off on the settlement in february. >> shartia brantley, thank you. in an effort to challenge itunes and spotify, microsoft is ready to unveil what it calls an all in one music center. this new program called xbox music combines streaming music, a music subscription service, and a music store that sells individual tracks and albums. users will be able to use cloud it can nolling -- technology to

access music across their devices. it keeps music all in one place and to be able to get to it no matter where they are. sounds like it's a win-win. >> hope so. fall is officially here. there are a lot of great ways around the area to enjoy it. >> one of our favorite ways, i should say one of my favorite ways is to pick pumpkins. one pumpkin patch looks to be a patch with a purpose. check this out. this weekend st. paul's pumpkin patch in kensington officially opened for business. you can pick from dozens of pumpkins, all shapes and sizes, and all the proceeds go towards the church's mission trips in nicaragua and to the hunger ministry to help feed needy families in montgomery county. >> we're one of the richest counties in the country, and we assume that everyone is fine and has food on their table every day. as i say, within just a half mile from where i'm standing now, there are people who are hungry and who are relying on these pumpkin sales to keep that ministry going. >> the pumpkin patch is open

through october 31st, and we've decided we are going to take aaron to the pumpkin patch. we're going to get you there, get you excited. we're going to experience the joy of autumn and one of the great traditions. >> i'm down with that. everyone around here thinks i'm such a scrooge. it's not part of my life experience. i have not been to one. i'm not saying i hate them or wouldn't go. it just isn't in my repertoire at the moment. we will add to it. >> you don't have to go out to the farms or anything in the country. there are plenty of urban pumpkin patches. this one's in kensington down the street. >> i have some dirty old boots. we can go to a farm, find some hay rides or something, do the whole nine yards. good news for women who like coffee, but you really have to like coffee. and if you haven't seen it, you'll want to take a look. a daredevil leaps from the edge of space. we'll hear what it was like to fall 800 miles an hour. [ female announcer ] it's one of the hardest decisions

a family can make... realizing a nursing home is the only choice. for many middle class families, medicaid is the only way to afford the care. but as a governor, mitt romney raised nursing home fees eight times. and as president, his budget cuts medicaid by one-third and burdens families with the cost of nursing home care. we have a president who won't let that happen. [ obama ] i'm barack obama and i approved this message. missing in the wild. two men from virginia lost in the wilderness. the clues left behind and what's complicating the search effort is